#1 Middlebury Panthers Vs #5 Gustavus Adolphus Gusties March 19th 2022

NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Championship
National Champions
Photo By: 
Nate Lepage

The Middlebury College women's ice hockey team poses with the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Championship trophy. The Middlebury College women's ice hockey team made history Saturday, defeating Gustavus Adolphus College 3-2 in overtime of the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Championship at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont.

The win capped off the first-ever perfect season in Division III women's ice hockey, and the first unbeaten season since Plattsburgh's 2007 run.

The hosts got on the board in style in the first period with a short-handed goal at 13:44, as the Panthers were on the second of back-to-back penalty kills.

Junior forward Jenna Letterie extended her stick to break up a pass to the far point off a faceoff won by the Golden Gusties and followed the puck into the neutral zone to set herself on the breakaway. Junior goaltender Katie McCoy appeared to make the save, but the puck trickled through the five-hole for the goal.

Gustavus Adolphus was able to draw level on a power play at 12:30 in the second period. Freshman forward Kaitlyn Holland passed the puck to Junior forward Emily Olson below the goal line. Olson patiently waited a second behind the goal before finding Junior forward Clara Billings in the slot for the one-time shot inside the far post.

Middlebury regained the with under three minutes remaining in the third period. Letterie forced a turnover in the neutral zone that set up senior forward Katie Hargrave for a shot from the high slot. McCoy made the save, but senior captain Madie Leidt got to the rebound on the blocker side first and shot it on the backhand for the go-ahead goal.

With Gustavus Adolphus on the power play late in the game, a video review of the time on the clock at 16 seconds resulted in an additional 2 seconds on the clock that would prove to be crucial.

After the Golden Gusties put a flurry of shots on Middlebury goaltender Sophia Merageas at the end of the period, the clock hit zero and the Panthers began their celebrations, but a lengthy video review showed that a backhanded rebound shot by junior forward Molly McHugh crossed the line with 0.1 seconds on the clock, sending the teams to overtime.

In tense overtime in which both teams had several scoring chances, Middlebury senior forward Ellie Barney put the game away at 13:17 of the extra period. Junior defenseman Eva Henrikson found Barney with a stretch pass out of the defensive end, and although McCoy stopped the initial shot, Barney put away her own rebound to season the championship.

Merageas stopped 29 of the 31 shots she faced in the win, while McCoy saved 25 of 28 shots in the loss.

With the win, the Panthers completed a perfect 27-0-0 season with a National Championship, while the runner-up Gustavus Adolphus finished at 25-4-2. Gallery

#2 Plattsburgh State Cardinals Vs #3 Gustavus Adolphus Gusties NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Semi-finals March 18th 2022

shot on net
Photo By: 
Nathanel Lepage

Plattsburgh senior defenseman Emma Killeen takes a shot on net past Gustavus Adolphus freshman Hannah Gray. The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team saw its quest for another NCAA Division III national championship end in the semifinal round Friday with a 5-1 loss to Gustavus Adolphus College at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont.
The game could hardly have started better for the defending champions, as senior defenseman Emma Killeen put the Cardinals on the board just 1:21 into the game with a snipe from the left point to the blocker side.
The elation from that goal was short-lived, however. Just 45 seconds after Killeen’s goal, junior forward Molly McHugh tied the game for the Golden Gusties off an assist from senior forward Kristina Press and junior forward Hailey Holland.
Holland gained the lead for Gustavus Adolphus at 13:25 of the first period with what would prove to be the game-winner. Press and Holland crossed paths below the goal line, and once Press was behind the Plattsburgh goal, causing goaltender Chloe Beaubien to shift to the far post, she passed the puck back to Holland for the tap-in goal.
The Golden Gusties outshot the Cardinals in the opening period 12-4.
Gustavus Adolphus kept the pressure on Plattsburgh in the second period, scoring a power-play goal just before three minutes to cushion their lead. Holland corralled a pass from senior defenseman Kayla Vrieze and sent a shot in from the right faceoff circle, which was saved by Beaubien before Press jumped on the rebound to send the puck home.
Just 21 seconds later, the Cardinals appeared to cut the deficit to 1 with a goal off a deflection by sophomore forward Mae Olshansky, but after a lengthy video review, the goal was disallowed due to a high stick.
With the goal overturned, the Golden Gusties rode the momentum the rest of the way.
Gustavus Adolphus ended the second period with a 4-1 lead, scoring a shorthanded goal on Plattsburgh’s only power play of the game. Sophomore forward Brooke Power picked the pocket of graduate defenseman Erin McArdle at the Gustavus blue line and skated in alone on substitute goaltender Ashley Davis for the unassisted goal.
Gustavus Adolphus freshman forward Hannah Gray scored the only goal of the third period unassisted at the 4:49 mark. Gray blocked a shot from junior defenseman Mack Emery at the Gustavus blue line and hustled to get the puck in the neutral zone. Gray sent a wrist shot from just outside the left faceoff dot that slipped just below Davis’s blocker.
In net for the Cardinals, Beaubien and David made 13 and 17 shots, respectively. Gustavus Adolphus goaltender Katie McCoy made 15 saves as the Golden Gusties led shot 35-16
With the win, Gustavus Adolphus advanced to the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship game Saturday against hosts Middlebury College, while Plattsburgh fell to the third-place game against Elmira College.
Gallery

shot on net
Photo By: 
Nathanel Lepage

Plattsburgh freshman defenseman Mattie Norton sends a pass into the corner under pressure from Gustavus Adolphus freshman forward Hannah Gray. Gallery

#2 Plattsburgh State Cardinals Vs #3 Gustavus Adolphus Gusties March 18th 2022

NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Semi-finals
around defender
Photo By: 
Nate Lepage

Plattsburgh sophomore forward Rivers Morris pokes the puck away from Gustavus Adolphus junior Emily Olson in the neutral zone. The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team saw its quest for another NCAA Division III national championship end in the semifinal round Friday with a 5-1 loss to Gustavus Adolphus College at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont.

The game could hardly have started better for the defending champions, as senior defenseman Emma Killeen put the Cardinals on the board just 1:21 into the game with a snipe from the left point to the blocker side.

The elation from that goal was short-lived, however. Just 45 seconds after Killeen’s goal, junior forward Molly McHugh tied the game for the Golden Gusties off an assist from senior forward Kristina Press and junior forward Hailey Holland.

Holland gained the lead for Gustavus Adolphus at 13:25 of the first period with what would prove to be the game-winner. Press and Holland crossed paths below the goal line, and once Press was behind the Plattsburgh goal, causing goaltender Chloe Beaubien to shift to the far post, she passed the puck back to Holland for the tap-in goal.

The Golden Gusties outshot the Cardinals in the opening period 12-4.

Gustavus Adolphus kept the pressure on Plattsburgh in the second period, scoring a power-play goal just before three minutes to cushion their lead. Holland corralled a pass from senior defenseman Kayla Vrieze and sent a shot in from the right faceoff circle, which was saved by Beaubien before Press jumped on the rebound to send the puck home.

Just 21 seconds later, the Cardinals appeared to cut the deficit to 1 with a goal off a deflection by sophomore forward Mae Olshansky, but after a lengthy video review, the goal was disallowed due to a high stick.

With the goal overturned, the Golden Gusties rode the momentum the rest of the way.

Gustavus Adolphus ended the second period with a 4-1 lead, scoring a shorthanded goal on Plattsburgh’s only power play of the game. Sophomore forward Brooke Power picked the pocket of graduate defenseman Erin McArdle at the Gustavus blue line and skated in alone on substitute goaltender Ashley Davis for the unassisted goal.

Gustavus Adolphus freshman forward Hannah Gray scored the only goal of the third period unassisted at the 4:49 mark. Gray blocked a shot from junior defenseman Mack Emery at the Gustavus blue line and hustled to get the puck in the neutral zone. Gray sent a wrist shot from just outside the left faceoff dot that slipped just below Davis’s blocker.

In net for the Cardinals, Beaubien and David made 13 and 17 shots, respectively. Gustavus Adolphus goaltender Katie McCoy made 15 saves as the Golden Gusties led shot 35-16

With the win, Gustavus Adolphus advanced to the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship game Saturday against hosts Middlebury College, while Plattsburgh fell to the third-place game against Elmira College.

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